ANSWERS

Getting Started

Who is the TA Coordinator (TAC) for the dept?

Who should you talk to when you have questions about locks for
mailboxes in the Learning Lounge (BH 2432)? What if you need
white-board markers (or erasers)? For questions in general,
contact the current TAC, Andrew Forney
(forns@cs)

What courses do I put on my study list?

All TAs are required to take the TA training seminar (CS 495) once. This must be taken before or during your first quarter of TAing. Note that CS 495 is only taught in Fall quarter. Thus, you'll typically need to plan a year in advance. If you plan on TAing next academic year, take it Fall quarter of this academic year. If you have not completed 495 before your TAship starts (or if you are not taking it during the quarter of your first TAship), you will lose your position and financial support.

To help you fulfill the 12 unit minimum, you can also sign up for 1-4 units of the Teaching Apprentice Practicum (CS 375). This class has no meetings and simply allows you to get units for your work as a TA. You should be sure to sign up for the section that corresponds to the professor you'll be TAing for.

In summary,

If you have not taken CS 495 and will be TAing Fall, Winter or Spring quarter, you MUST take 2 units of CS 495 in the Fall.

You may sign up for up to 4 units of CS 375 any quarter in which you are TAing.

How do I receive TA notices?

You
should receive all TA notices by e-mail. Look in /u/class/ta/dist-ta.list.
If your login name is not in this file, send mail to
the current TAC.

What is there to know about
paperwork and paychecks?

As far as filling out paperwork, picking-up paychecks or arranging for your paychecks to be direct
deposited into a checking acct. You will want to talk to Freda Robinso (freda@cs). She handles all payroll matters for TA's. It is not a bad idea to check in with her occasionally to make sure
everything is in order. Before the quarter begins, you will need to see
Freda in order to sign your TA contract. If you are TAing during a
given quarter, you should receive email from her inviting you to her
office to sign these documents.

Along with your hiring paperwork, you will need to complete a "TA Responsibility" form
with your course's instructor that outlines your workload expectation for the quarter. Though these
forms are stated to be due before the first day of instruction, this is a soft deadline; you should
still strive to complete them as close to the start of the quarter as possible.

Where can I find out what old TAs
did?

The best way to find out what previous TAs have done or to access to
their materials is to talk to the TAs themselves. To find out who has
TAed your course in the past, you can consult the professor or the TAC.

Who are the TAs for the past few quarters?

Past TAs are an excellent resource for getting started. Talk to the professor you're TAing for or the TAC to see if they can point you to past TAs.

Duties and Responsibilities

What are "Discussion Sections"?

These are held only for courses. Your interaction with the students
will mainly be during the Discussion sections, usually during
Fridays. You might be in charge of more than one section. This time is
used to go over the material that was covered during lectures by the
professor - new material is not introduced unless the professor asks
you to do so. Presenting examples and solving problems are a good way
to review the material. Students are encouraged to ask
questions. Depending on your class, you may also have to: Give
quizzes, collect homeworks, give back graded homeworks and quizzes,
discuss homework/quiz solutions, go over programming exercises. Your
work in CS495 will well prepare you for the expectations and challenges of
leading a successful discussion section.

What are "Lab Sections"?

Usually, you start out by going over the work that has to be done during
that day. You will also have to go over any theory that they might
require. You then move around helping the students do their experiments.

What about Lectures?

These are given by the professor. It is up to you and the professor to
decide if you need to attend them.

How many office hours do I need to hold?

You are expected to hold two office hours per week unless otherwise
stated by your course's instructor (sometimes, as is the case with CS31/32,
TAs are expected to hold a minimum of three office hours per week). Preferably,
hold them on different days and times so that all students can make it
to at least one of them. Also, try to schedule office hours to span
standard class times. In other words, an office hour from 9:30-10:30,
11:30-12:30, 1:30-2:30, or 3:30-4:30 will allow a lot more students to
be able to attend. You can ask your students for suitable times
before fixing your office hours. Extra office hours may be held during
examination weeks. Post your regular office hours on
the CourseWeb homepage
for your course, under the Syllabus/Info section. Office hours are
usually held in Boelter 2432.

How do I sign up for office hours?

Around one week before the start of each quarter, the TAC will send an email
with details on how to sign up for specific days of the week and hours in
Boelter 2432. This schedule will be enforced throughout the quarter, and if you
find that a TA hosts their office hours in contradiction with the official schedule,
please contact the TAC.

TAs for large intro classes like CS31/32 may schedule office hours internally (i.e.,
with the instructor, rather than the TAC). The office hour sign-up email will have more
information on any special-case courses and their associated office hour policies.

What are my grading duties?

Talk with the professor to find out about homeworks and quizzes (how many,
when will they be given, who will prepare the questions/solutions, grading
scheme ...) If you handle over 45 students ask your professor if you can
get a "reader" (usually a student who has taken the course
previously and who will grade the homeworks for you; you will still be
responsible for collecting and giving back the homeworks). Make sure that
you return graded material in time.

You can collect homeworks in class or ask them to drop it off in one of
the drop-boxes in Boelter 2432. Pick an empty one, label the box
clearly, and contact the TAC for a combination lock.

What do I need to know about discussion section video-taping?

All new CS department TAs are required to have one of their discussion
sections video-taped for feedback and review. Generally, these tapings are
scheduled the first quarter that a TA leads a discussion (note: lab sections are
exempt from the taping requirement, but are instead deferred until the first quarter
that the TA leads a discussion).

At the beginning of each quarter, the TAC will send an email with details for scheduling
a discussion taping. Once your taping is confirmed, a representative from Audio-Visual
Services (AVS) will attend the first half of your discussion section (first ~50 minutes)
and require that you provide an SD card at least 4GB in size to hold the video. After
the discussion, or at the break, the representative will return the SD card for you to
hold until your taping review at the beginning of the following quarter.

This is an incredibly valuable learning experience for you as an instructor, and the feedback you'll receive from reviewing your tape can vastly improve your teaching!

How can I get textbooks?

The department should have ordered a textbook for your use during the
quarter. Contact the Undergraduate Student Affairs Officer (currently TBD) in suite 4732, and they can order a textbook
for you if she doesn't have it already.

How can I get a laptop projector for my discussion?

Material/Building services has laptops and laptop projectors. Fill up
their "Audio and Visual Services Request" form
at www.matserv.ucla.edu.
Don't fill in the recharge ID. Do give your course number and
professor's name. They should then confirm your order. You can pick
up the equipment from their office in Boelter 2685 (entrance from the
outside corridor).

Accessing TA Materials

Where do I store on-line class materials?

The best place to make class announcements, send emails to your class,
and post materials is on
the CourseWeb homepage
for your course.

Additionally, you can use the following directory on the department
servers: /u/class/XXXXYY/csZZZ. Where XXXX is the quarter (fall,
winter, spring, summer), YY is the two-digit year, and XXXX is the
course number. The web address for accessing this directory is
http://www.cs.ucla.edu/classes/XXXXYY/csZZZ. If you can't create your
files, check to see if you are in the "ta" group with "ypmatch ta
group." If your login name is not on this list, send mail to the
current TAC.

How can I obtain a password/code for the photocopiers?

Each TA is allowed to use the photocopiers on the 3rd floor (BH 3507)
for making class-related photocopies. You will need a code in order
to access these machines. To obtain a code, see Osanna Kazarian (in BH 3531K) or Edna Todd (in BH 4532N).

Where do I get supplies?

A TA should not pay for any supplies necessary for teaching a
class. Things like paper, folders, staplers, transparencies,
dry-erase markers/erasers, etc. may be obtained from
Edna Todd (in BH 4532N) or
Osanna Kazarian (in BH 3531K).

Where and How do I make APS for my class?

APS stands for Academic Publishing Service, which is the on campus
service for a professor or TA to produce some type of manual, or
supplemental for their class. APS is located in the ASUCLA Copy store
on the 3rd floor of Ackerman union. However, APS takes 3-4 weeks to
produce anything. On the other hand, you can go to Copymat located in
Westwood on Westwood Blvd, Across from the Bankof America, next to the
Mrs. Fields. They will create your APS, and sell them to your
students, and give you a free copy. The best part, is they will do
this within 3-4 days, usually faster. So if you have a choice, go to
Copymat and make your APS manuals there.

How can I set up newsgroups for my class

The CourseWeb homepage
for your course includes a forum that you can enable your students to
use.

How can I get textbooks?

The department should have ordered a textbook for your use during the
quarter. Contact the Undergraduate Student Affairs Officer (currently TBD) in suite 4732, and she can order a textbook
for you if she doesn't have it already.

Can I use an online gradebook? How?

You don't have to use an online gradebook, however you may set one
up if you decide the students will find it useful.
Here is
a document in PDF format describing how.

How can I access an old class' TA materials (such as handouts)?

If you would like to view some past course materials, all you have to
do is
email courseweb@seas.ucla.edu
and they will give you guest access to certain past course
webpages. However - you *need* to have the instructor's permission (of
the past course you want to access) and prove to the courseweb person
that you have the permission. They will not otherwise accommodate your
request. You could forward them an email with the written instructor
permission, for example.

Are there any useful scripts available?

A webpage has been set up
here where
useful TA scripts can be found.
If you would like to add to this list, please email the TAC.

How do I perform ABET materials collection?

A TA's role in collecting sample material for ABET is at the
discretion of a course instructor. Some instructors rely on their TAs
to collect sample student material, and some will perform this task
themselves (or with other assistance). You should speak to your
instructor about collecting samples of student work before returning
any handed-in assignments to students.
A document has been created which describes the typical TA role in
ABET sample collection. That document can be found
here
in Microsoft Word (.doc) form.

How do I get permission to modify the webpage?

Before you can modify the webpage, the professor has to activate
it. This is a simple matter of him/her logging into CourseWeb and
activating it. After this has been done you should have admin rights
to the webpage.
If you do not have admin rights, or have any other issues getting
started, please email the TAC.

What should the website contain?

The webpages usually contain the following information:

Contact information: of the professor and TA, office hours,
lecture and discussion hours and locations.

Syllabus and Course Outline

Homework assignments: Depending on the professor, solutions may
also be posted.

Notices of upcoming quizzes and examinations.

Lecture slides (if available)

What is the "Forum"?

A forum is available for each class (a link is there on your
default course webpage). This is meant for the students and TAs to
ask/answer questions, make announcements, etc. Anyone can post on this
board - please make sure that no inappropriate material gets posted.

Locations

Where is the TA Office?

There is currently no space for a TA office. I would suggest you talk
to your advisor to see if he/she can come up with a desk for
you. Office hours can be held in BH 2432.

Where do I pick up TA evaluations?

Your teaching evaluations are now made available digitally via MyUCLA
(under the "Classes" tab, find the course for which you are a TA and then the
"Evaluations" column therein). They are accessible in PDF format once the course's
instructor has submitted final grades.

Where do I meet students?

Office hours and student meetings are held in the Learning Lounge
(2432 Boelter Hall). There are two sides to the room, each with a
pair of white boards. If you need dry erase markers, see Edna Todd (in BH 4532N) or
Osanna Kazarian (in BH 3531K).

Where do students hand-in homework?

There are drop-boxes available in the BH 2432. Contact the TAC to get
access to one. They are assigned on a quarterly basis.

How can I get in these rooms?

To enter you need a "swipe card". If you don't have a swipe
card or you need to add TA access, contact Mildri Lopez-Duarte (in BH 4732L). Ask for access to the Learning Lounge (BH 2432).

My swipe key doesn't work

If your swipe key doesn't work for some reason, you will need to talk
to Mildri Lopez-Duarte (in BH 4732L).

Contributing to this FAQ

How can I contribute to this FAQ?

1. Edit /u/class/ta/faq.html.
Please add your name/e-mail address to the end of your comments.
2. Add your name to the document history at the end of faq.html.
3. Save a copy of faq.html in /u/class/ta/old_faqs; i.e. "faq-15.html".
Please "chmod 664 yourfile", so that other TAs can read your file.